E-Media Tidbits

I'm in the process of selling an old car, and my experience confirms in my mind how newspaper classifieds are at the precipice of a long decline (perhaps a slow one, but I'm beginning to think it will happen more quickly). If newspaper executives and classifieds managers aren't scared yet, they should be.

Here's how it's played out so far. I looked to my local newspaper, the Boulder Daily Camera, and found that a minimum 3-line ad in the newspaper and its website would cost $35 and up for a 30-day run. (The price also includes placement in an affiliated neighborhood newspaper and the Camera's free daily newspaper targeted at the college-age set.)

OK, so I could try that, or I could place an ad for FREE on the Denver-Boulder edition of Craigslist, the phenomenally popular community classifieds website that's popping up in most major metro areas.

Now, with the Craigslist free listing (here's mine), I can include as much text as I want and up to four photos. With the Camera paid ad, I can submit a photo for an additional $10; my text ad ends up being seven lines, much shorter than what's in my Craigslist ad, and that increases the price another $30.

Let's see: $75 or free? ... Well, this is a no-brainer. Let's try out Craigslist and see how it goes. ... But it's free, so will this really work?

Oh, yeah, it worked. Within 10 minutes of placing the ad on Friday afternoon I got my first call and a potential buyer was over for a test drive within an hour and a half. She didn't buy it, but within the first two hours I had two more calls and a low-ball e-mail offer. Over the weekend, a few more calls came in and a couple more people test-drove the car. I've had offers, but not close enough to my price for me to accept.

Now, I've sold cars before using newspaper classifieds, but my recollection is of getting fewer inquiries. And with the near-instantaneous response, I've got to conclude that Craigslist is the way to go for me. Having worked in the newspaper business for years, it pains me to say that. But I can't imagine paying for a newspaper classified ad to sell a car again. The Camera lost $65-75 in revenue that it would have gotten in the pre-Craigslist era.

Oh, and one last thing. I bought another car to replace my aging Subaru, but I didn't consult any of my local newspapers. I bought it on eBay.

CORRECTION: The Daily Camera's dirt free paper is a daily (Monday-Friday), not a weekly as originally stated.